Strings
by thejapnoob
Summary: "They're the things that bind us." My teacher said as blood trickled down his chin "Like it or not, we're all just puppets dancing to the tune of our puppetmaster."
_**-Strings-**_

 _A/N: Hello and welcome to the first chapter of my new fanfiction project . I've been messing with this idea in my head for a while now, because while there are simply magnificent Naruto fanfics on this site [Lost Soul, The Melt, The Sealed Kunai], I haven't actually read many 'good' puppetmaster naruto fics._

 _The few decent ones are littered with bad grammar and spelling mistakes, obvious plot lines, shitty romance and worst of all- boring use of puppets. And while I say that, I must also admit that my own fic probably won't be any better because of my shitty writing skills. Oh well._

 _ **Nov. 14,**_

 _ **Ten Years After Kyuubi Attack**_

He lie face down on his stomach, eyes peaking out from beneath the cloth he had thrown over himself. The cloth was a special one, codenamed red-32, it blended in almost perfectly with the default roof tile colour and pattern of the upper residential area.

It had taken him nearly forty-two hours to make by hand with his rusty old loom and needles, and he was more proud of making it than he was of finishing off fifteen bowls of miso ramen at old man Teuchi's place.

Naruto giggled maniacally from beneath his red cloth. No ninja would ever suspect someone to try and hide with anything other than some type of cloaking ninjutsu or genjutsu. It just went to show that he was a genius 'ttebayo.

"What was that?"

He stifled his giggles with his left hand, using his right to hold onto the roof.

"It's probably just some kids playing a game nearby. I swear Yochihiro, ever since you've gotten that jacket you've been so overly-cautious."

Two boys, one dressed in standard-issue chunin jacket and another with a headband around his arm stood in one of the many neatly cleaned white cobblestone pathways of the area. Yochihiro ran his fingers through his brown hair, his eyes furrowed in frustration.

"Maybe you're right, Kenta. I would have picked up a genjutsu."

"Of course I was right. When have I ever been wrong?"

"If you're always right, then why did you fail the written test given by the old hag in the chunin exam?"

"Damn it Yochihiro, can't you give a guy a break? Besides, we've only been genin for a year. Most of the guys in the tournament had been genin for twice as long as us."

The other boy puffed out his chest "You've been a genin for a year. I passed, remember?"

"...In six months time I'll be a chunin too. It was only the writing portion that held me back, if it had been a fight instead I would have passed no problem. Now all I have to do is hit the books."

"Speaking of books..." Yochihiro reached into his rucksack, digging around until he found a small black book bound with leather. "The hokage advisor gave me an extra bingo book by mistake. Do you want it?"

"Nah. My dad's a jounin, remember? He has bunches of them just laying around in his study."

"Oh well." The new chunin tossed the book lazily against a wall, where it fell in a crumpled heap.

Bingo book? Wasn't bingo the game that the old man played with the other old people every wednesday night at the old age home?

"Hey... I know I said that you should stop being so uptight, but is it a good idea to throw that book away like that? I mean, it is forbidden for anyone lower than chunin rank to read them. If the higher-ups find out that you tossed it in the road you could get into trouble. Why don't you just use one of your fire-jutsu on it?"

"Maybe you do have a brain after all."

The two turned back only to find that the book had disappeared.

Naruto ran through the streets, a book clutched tightly to his chest and his handmade cloth wrapped loosely around his neck, trailing behind him like a cloak. If the book was so important then it must hold some sort of important, secretive ninja information.

It was a good thing he'd trailed those two idiots to that alley, now he might even learn some super-cool jutsu!

Soon the massive properties and small alleys of the richer residential area gave way to massive apartment complexes with rusty roof tops and broken windows. The apartment building that Naruto lived in was one of the worst kept of them all. Poorly done graffiti covered the walls, the floors stank of piss and the paint was peeled off in places.

The only advantages of living in a place like this, according to his landlord, was that the rent was cheap and the red-light district was less than a five minutes walk away. Mr Shen had then immediately denied his unspoken question of what the red-light district was, as if he didn't know. The red light district was where all the guys of the village would line up once a year to get the new volume of Icha Icha.

He got to the door of his apartment, a rotten old piece of wood covered with green paint and the letters 52b. Turning the key in the lock, he swung open the door to his one-bedroom home.

Buckets of paint sat in a corner with a cloth-maker, sheets of newspaper opened beneath them so that errant droplets wouldn't make a mess of his veneer floor. A lonely chair and table sat in the middle of the room, the used plastic containers of countless instant-ramen dinners were stacked on the table. The only electric appliances in the apartment was an old fridge and a microwave that had been placed onto several layers of cardboard box. It was pretty spartan, but it had everything he needed.

After carefully folding red-32 and putting it gingerly in his cupboard Naruto sat the table, a now crease-free bingo book placed in a recently cleared place of honour. Since his hands were somewhat dirt-free, he opened to the first page.

 **Bingo Book Of Konohagakure,**

 **Nov. 91VE Edition**

Beneath this, written neatly in black ink, was a message from the hokage adviser.

 _'This book contains classified information on wanted ninja from the rest of the continent, and is forbidden to all konoha citizens not yet eligible to participate in hunting missions, i.e. Anyone genin rank or below. As a newly instated chunin, please ensure that this book doesn't fall into unworthy hands'_

 _-Umino Iruka,_

 _Hokage Advisor_

So the book was about wanted ninja? Guess it wasn't as good as good as getting some new jutsu... Although... As the future strongest Hokage of all time, it would be a good idea to see just what I'm going to be facing up against.

The next page gave a short list of all the different skill classes, namely E, D, C, B, A and S. For example, a D-ranked shinobi would be theoretically weaker than one that was ranked C or B. Each subsequent entry also included the ninja's bounty if their body was presented to the right people, that was.

Hours later Naruto still sat, his eyes wide in disbelief at just how powerful some of the shinobi listed in the book were. One of them was supposed to be immortal, another could fashion weapons stronger than steel from his bones and another could construct crystal structures with her gekkai genkai.

His blind confidence had taken a beating. The road to becoming Hokage had never seemed as long as it did now. But even so, he wouldn't give up his dream. All it meant was that he would have to work a little bit harder, that's all.

Naruto then came across the first S-rank entry from the hidden sand village, a man nicknamed Sasori of the Red Sands, and he became even more intrigued. The suna-nin had been given his current rank while still in his teens, completing hundreds of missions during his brief time while working under the third Kazekage- who he was thought to have murdered before becoming a missing-nin, a ninja unaffiliated to any village.

"Huh? This 'Sasori' was strong enough to kill a kage before he left his village?" Even though it was only natural for the kage' of the Hidden Leaf Village to be stronger than all others, the Sand ninja could only have gotten stronger in the many years since he'd left.

Naruto wondered just what sort of skills Sasori must have possessed to defeat a kage, but all of his skills were marked as unknown. The only thing that might give some clue as to his skills was a short entry beneath his blank stats.

 _'While all of his skills cannot accurately be determined, there are some bits of data the research department has managed to gather. Sasori is extremely proficient in mixing and creating poisons, and is said to be the greatest puppet-jutsu user of all time. According to inhabitants of the village of honey he was able to expertly wield one-hundred puppets simultaneously.'_

Puppets? Lame. He wouldn't be caught dead playing with dolls. 'Growl'. His stomach felt empty. Hadn't he just eaten a few bowls of ramen before tailing those two ninja? Naruto stared outside his tiny kitchen window to see the last rays of sunlight stream over the hokage mountain.

"Whoa. How long have I been reading? Ichiraku's should be closing right about now. Guess I'll have to fix up supper again."

Strolling over to his bedroom, he opened up his cupboard. Several outfits hung on the rail, most of which was his usual orange jumpsuit. A pile of his successful camo-cloth creations were neatly packed on the shelves. Underneath the orange jumpsuits was his secret stash- several boxes of the best instant-ramen flavours. Miso, Pork, Beef, Chicken and even the ultra-limited edition Sushi and Mint.

It was only by dumb luck that he managed to get the last one. For some reason, a nearby shop owner had tossed the box in the rubbish. The poor guy probably didn't even know what he was throwing away. So, he had taken it. Hey, one man's trash is another man's treasure after all.

"So what'll it be tonight? Beef or chicken?"

After fifteen long indecisive minutes, he had decided to say 'fuck it' and gone with the sushi and mint. It was a special occasion after all. Today he'd managed to trail a chunin and get a book filled with classified information. Classified information that might even help him become hokage. What was it Iruka-sensei had said the other day? Know your friends and their enemies? It went something like that anyway.

And after he'd finished his- frankly delicious- dinner Naruto lye down on his rickety bed, one final thought passing through his mind before being consumed by darkness.

'Puppets... Yeah, right.'

The shinobi academy was a source of hope for many of Konoha's citizens. It was where the future of the village would be decided. Here legends like the Yellow Flash and the White Fang had emerged, people who had single-handedly decided the course of history.

And many believed that, in this hallowed building the current generations would bring about some further stability in the village, repairing the damage caused by the dreaded kyuubi attack and reinforcing their status as the strongest ninja village on the continent, a title that the village hidden in the clouds had been more than ready to try and snatch from them in the years since.

The academy was one of the landmarks of the village, joined by other structures like the carved faces of the Hokage Mountain, the glorified office of the hokage known as the Hokage Mansion and the massive wooden barrier made by the first Hokage that surrounded the entire village.

It's signature red roof made in the traditional japanese style, the kanji for fire that stood proudly above the entrance doors and the dusty playground were the most prominent features of the building. But even more important were the students. All the students who had long since stopped playing outside and gone to class, all except for a certain blonde-haired ninja in training that was.

As was usual for him, Naruto had woken up late for school once again and even though he always ran full-blast all the way from his little apartment to the academy he never made it in time to sit in his seat before the assistant teacher Mizuki-sensei called his name out in the morning.

One of the reasons was that the ninja academy was about as far away from the red light district as it could possibly be, lest the students see unspeakable things on their way to and from school. He'd tried bringing it up in discussion with the old man, but the sandaime couldn't help but start giggling every time Naruto brought up the words 'red', 'light' and 'district' in the same sentence. Pervy old man.

He ran straight through the door to his classroom... Where just moments before, everyone had been perfectly quiet. "Am I late?" He asked, quite pointlessly. And then his classmates burst into fits of laughter. The only one not joining in was that bastard Uchiha sitting all important-like in the back row, smirk glued onto his face. One day soon he would beat Sasuke in a taijutsu match and then the last Uchiha would finally recognize him for the awesome ninja that he was.

"Hey loser, why didn't you just stay asleep? It's not like you're gonna pass the exam anyway!"

Kiba Inuzuka, a boy with a mouth almost as loud as his own, according to Iruka-sensei at least. He didn't know why Kiba acted like he was so great seeing as the dog-boy's marks weren't much better than his own. And to top it all off, Kiba wore makeup. If a guy wears makeup, what is it that still makes him a guy?

"Yeah, Naruto. Why don't you just quit while you're ahead?"

And, as usual, Ino sticks her mouth in again. Now that he thought about it, Ino and Kiba were almost frighteningly alike. If Ino had short, spiky brown hair, feral-looking eyes, sharp teeth and put on Kiba's makeup in the exact same horizontal pattern he would be hard pressed to see the difference between the two. Though to be fair, if he did the same thing to himself it would be just as hard.

Iruka-sensei, a pony-tailed man with a long scar over his nose, banged his hands on the desk and shouted as loud as he could "QUIET!"

Iruka-sensei's head expanded to several times its normal size, gazing angrily over his students. Naruto had often wondered on just how it was that his sensei could do that. At first he'd thought that it was some sort of obscure jutsu but he hadn't noticed Iruka performing any hand seals. Then he wondered if his sensei could possibly have eaten a fruit that made his body all rubbery, but after stalking the more world-weary chunin and pulling his cheeks viciously that theory had been very quickly discarded.

"Good. And you, Naruto! Don't just stand there dawdling, get to your seat!"

Had his sensei just said something?

"I said get to your seat Naruto!"

Oh. He hurried along to his seat next to his already dozing pineapple-haired friend.

"Since you missed the first three periods- again, I might add- you'll be learning about the wonders of the decisive battle between the first Hokage and his life-long nemesis Madara Uchiha. I hope you you packed a decent lunch, its going to be a three hour lecture." Iruka smirked victoriously.

"Screw that!" What was the point of history class anyway? It wasn't like he was ever going to meet this Madara bastard anyway.

The now pissed off chunin glared angrily at him, head already beginning to expand. Luckilly, the assistant teacher Mizuiro-sensei spoke up. "Now, now Iruka. Maybe the br-boy has a point."

"What do you mean, Mizuki?"

"It's been months since the class had a practical session. Maybe we should dust off the old padding and let the kids have a little friendly competition?"

Iruka-sensei gave it some thought. If Mizuki thought that there was some use in it then sensei would no doubt go along with it, seeing as how the two had been friends for years- according to the information he had tactically gathered through numerous espionage tactics.

By 'espionage tactics' he meant that he'd hidden outside the teacher's room and listened to hours of meaningless conversations in an attempt to find any worthwhile info that might lead to a super-jutsu depository or a decent pranking opportunity.

"I think you're right Mizuki. Class! We will all be heading to the training ground, get into your lines and make your way to the back of the academy."

He could have kissed Mizuki-sensei right then. Except, not really because he didn't have eyes for anyone except Sakura. And also he didn't like guys.

Legends had it that the yard at the back of their academy had once been a fine and beautiful place, with grasses and flowers and koi ponds and what-have-you. Personally, he thought it was a load of steaming shit, coz' from where he stood it was nothing more than a dusty, lifeless, trampled plot of land drier than a desert in the middle of summer.

It was here that three wooden training dummies stood near the gnarled old leafless tree for about two months after school started, before some civilian brat would cart it off so they could play ninja. It was also where they would punch, grapple and throw sand in the faces of their opponents in mock fights.

"Okay... I know we haven't really done any practical work in a while since we have so much history to cover, but you guys should still know the procedure. Mizuki-sensei will take the boys and I'll take the girls."

Mizuki didn't yet get to utter a word before he and his fellow protruding genitalia'd classmates ran off to the left, near the swings, and stood single-filed. The more time they spent getting in line the less time there was to gouge out the eyes of their nemeses.

Meanwhile Iruka shouted and argued with the chattering girls, who took fifteen minutes to get in line and another fifteen minutes complaining that they might get a nail broken.

"Okay guys, I know we all want to have some fun but don't take it too far. Alright?" Mizuki said with glistening teeth. The warning didn't really sound all that genuine, so that meant they could go all out.

"Okay... First up is Kiba and Inaba."

Wait, why would Mizuki-sensei put Kiba up against Inaba? Kiba was one of the best taijutsu users in the class- just behind Sasuke and himself, despite what the class rankings said- and everyone knew that Inaba was a bit weak.

According to his intel Inaba had been born too early or something, and because of that his body was frail.

"Sensei, shouldn't Kiba be going up against me instead? I still need to get him back for blindsiding me last time!"

"Heh! Blindsiding?! Who would need to blindside you, you dobe?!"

"Oh yeah? Now why don't you prove it, dog-breath?"

Iruka held his hands up. "Enough. Naruto, it is not your place to decide who gets matched up with who. Not to worry, since you're so eager I'll make sure to match you up with someone who can give you a really fun match."

He didn't like the eerieb way Mizuki-sensei said the word 'fun' just then.

As soon as Mizuki had called the start Kiba was on Inaba like a dog on another dog in heat. He flinched at the cries of pain issuing from Inaba. He wasn't usually this startled by watching someone getting beaten up, if he was he would have arrived shaking at home each day. The area he lived in wasn't known for being a quiet, peaceful place. But there was just something disturbing about watching a fight as one-sided as this. It was like watching a grown man beat up an old lady.

And as he looked around it seemed that none of his classmates seemed to like it much either. Well, apart from Sasuke that was, who just watched the proceedings with a closed, detached face. He could never read that guy.

"Mizuki! Stop the fight! Can't you see that the boy's arm is broken?!"

Iruka-sensei had marched over the playground in moments and taken Inaba away- more than likely to the nurse's office. Seeing Inaba limp away, arm bent at an unnatural angle, silent tears running down his face was something he knew he would never forgot.

"Well, that wasn't very nice Kiba-san. But anyway, you still win the match. It couldn't be helped. Little Inaba was never ready for life as a ninja anyway. Better to learn that the hard way then die pointlessly down the line. Now… Naruto. I think you and Sasuke-san are ready for your fight."

He put the thoughts of Inaba aside in favour of trying to wipe that arrogant smirk off Sasuke's face. He stepped forward, fist's clenched tightly in anticipation, heart already thumping in his chest. Sasuke did the same, and both of them stepped into their respective stances. And here their differences were made clear. While he just stood glaring and with fists balled at his sides, Sasuke had gotten into his family stance. Sasuke had his fists at the ready, elbows clutched tight against his body and legs bent. Whatever. You didn't need proper tai-jutsu training when you had mad skills.

"I'm gonna get you this time, Sasuke!"

"This is the thirtieth time you've said that, and every other time I still beat you to within an inch of your life. What makes this time so different, dobe?"

"Ahh, but you see I was just playing back then. Now it's time for me to prove that the Uchiha prodigy is nothing but a phony!"

Sasuke's smirk hardened into a frown. "I've had enough of you. This time I'm going to put you in your place and show you the true power of the Uchiha!"

He didn't make the mistake of letting Sasuke finish his screeching and rushed forward, arm cocked back, ready to deliver a crippling blow. He never got to land it though. Because as soon as he got within striking distance Sasuke had grabbed his arm and used his own momentum to try and toss his to the floor.

Luckily he had already encountered this move several times before so he knew how to counter it. He launched himself into a front-flip, kicking his feet out at the top of the arc. Sasuke dodged and latched onto him again. This time he wasn't able to manoeuvre his way out of the attack, and showing some impressive strength for someone his size, Sasuke hurled him onto the floor, getting some applause from his fangirls for his effort.

"Yeah! Go Sasuke-kun!"

He was somewhat annoyed to hear Sakura's voice cheering on his rival, to say the least. He whirled around viciously, hands clenched tightly, and launched another wild strike at the Uchiha. It was easily intercepted though, and using his own moment against him once more, Sasuke tossed him to the floor. Then he felt a sharp pain in his side, courtesy of the hard end of a ninja sandal.

"Ahhh..."

Kick after kick found it's way to him, as Sasuke pummelled him relentlessly. "How do you like it, Dobe? This is but a taste of the power of a true Uchiha."

There was something vicious hidden in Sasuke's words. His body ached and he couldn't find the strength to do anything more than clutch at the sand helplessly, eyes red. He didn't know how long he lie there, face first in the dirt, foot planted in his side but after a while the sounds of laughter sounded in the playground. Wondering what exactly they were all laughing at, he lifted his head just barely off the ground and took a look around.

So it was with a bit of surprise that he took in the pointing fingers and jeers of more than a hundred students. Apparently some of the other teachers had brought their own students outside just to watch the fight.

Eventually though they must have gotten bored because the searing pain in his side dulled down to a more manageable throbbing. "I hope you remember this, weakling. Mmph."

It was a while still before he felt that everyone had left and he managed to crawl to his feet- barely- wincing as he did. He wasn't a medical professional, but he felt safe in saying that his ribs were broken. The physical pain was secondary though. He had never felt more ashamed in his life.

Now he realised that he had been deluding himself. That his dreams of grandeur were nothing more than fantasy.

He whimpered over to a tree to try and right himself for a while. Unfortunately, it was a bit difficult to breathe right then. The tears came then. Hot, salty and fat they plopped silently onto the ground. At least his tears were good for something. They were watering this trampled wasteland. It was more of an impact than he had to be sure.

Hearing a slight eep' nearby he looked around as quickly as his paining side would allow. A short girl, all but hidden beneath her beige jacket. At first glance he could see that it was about three sizes too big. "So you've come to poke fun at me, 'ttebayo?"

No answer.

Frustrated, he roared at the startled girl. "Well you and those other guys wont have to worry 'bout me any more, so you might as well just get it out of your system now!"

The girl, who now that he thought about it was probably in his class, let out what sounded like a series of mangled chokes before running off as fast as her little legs could carry her.

He cradled his side discretely through his orange jacket whilst aimlessly wandering through an area of town even seedier than where he lived. By now he was probably in the heart of the red-light district but he couldn't be bothered to look up and check.

Two left turns and he stumbled across something interesting. A broad, if somewhat squat man wearing a thick red cloak stood imposingly before a frightened looking man dressed in a dirty shirt and a pair of jeans so worn it left more skin uncovered than it enclosed. "And I'm telling you that I'm not him, so if you don't beat it in the next five seconds I'll slit your damned throat."

Ducking behind some boxes, he let out an almost silent curse. Why did he never carry around a brown-18 at all times? It was only the most useful item in his camouflage arsenal. Wood was one of the things konoha had a lot of, that and assholes. Wood and assholes as far as the eye could see. Yep, there was no place better than home.

"My intel is never wrong. You are the man who attacked and raped a girl in the nearby settlement, and I am here to collect the bounty on your head."

The shorter man's voice was deep and scratchy, the languid pace measured as though to ensure that he used no more words than was necessary. "I'm warning you again. If you don't-"

"You should have attacked me already. It's already been twenty-six seconds. That is more than your stated limit."

"Why you arrogant fatass. Do I look like a fool to you?"

A short knife, stained a light red, was drawn by the poorly dressed criminal. He bit his nails in excitement. This was so cool! A real life bounty hunter taking on a dirty criminal!

A flash of metal, too fast for him to see, grabbed hold of the offending knife and threw it into a wall not more than a hair's breadth away from his head. He held his hand over his mouth in surprise and when he looked on again he saw a snake like tail, made of different interlocking metal sections, peaking out from beneath the red cloak. The tail moved of it's own accord, moving to and fro in mid-air.

"L-look man… I was drunk okay? Just let me go…"

"False. Witnesses claimed that you had a perfectly sober conversation with the girl before you raped and murdered her. And yes, I do think you are a fool."

And with a quick swipe to the head the man fell limply before being caught by the seemingly sentient tail and hailed onto the man's back.

"Come out. I know you are there."

Damn it. He'd been caught. That totally ruined his record. So far he'd managed to maintain a ninety-seven percent success rate. Now he would have to run new calculations and drew up new graphs and pie charts.

Raising his hands aloft as he stood, he smiled nervously at the man who had yet to turn around. "Okay, you got me."

"What business do you have with me?"

"Nothing, nothing! No business at all!.." he stammered nervously.

"Then I suggest you forget what you have seen here and never contact me again."

"Wait, I-" he called out to the emptied alley. The broad bounty hunter had somehow vanished.

He sat in the dingy bar of his dingy inn. Konoha required extensive knowledge of all the happenings at any store that served alcohol before they issued a permit. It was no surprise that this place didn't have one seeing as it was a front for some of the more illicit activities in Konoha. Bounty hunting, Experimentation, Black Market, Whorehouse. These and more stood under the same roof.

The noise kept him up at night, but he couldn't go to a better establishment for identification reasons. The brandy was good though, he thought with a sip. Ahh. The burn of quality.

"I found you, 'ttebayo!"

It was too bad that the Lightning country forbade alcohol, it would be nice to have a drink after completing a job in his main stomping grounds.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!"

He caught sight of the person calling out to him. A tiny brat, barely tall enough to reach his thigh looked at him in frustration and a bit of wariness. The same brat he had told not to contact him again."How did you manage to find me?" he asked, curiously.

"Hehe. That would be because of my superb skills. I knew you were a bounty hunter, so it was pretty easy to guess that you wouldn't be in the more expensive places uptown. And the old man once told me that bounty hunters felt out of place if they weren't in the roughest parts of town for more than a few hours at a time. And since this is the worst inn in the worst part of the village it was the first place I thought to look!"

The mouthy blonde seemed pleased by that and grinned at him cheekily.

"If you have no business with me, leave." he couldn't handle being around blabber mouths. Kid or no.

"W-well..."

"Speak up. If you don't know what to say it's best to not say anything at all."

There was a pause, between which a bar fight broke out at the back and he ducked his head just an inch to dodge an errant beer bottle that splattered against the stained cupboards, spraying foam onto the floor. The bartender glanced at it distastefully and tried his best to ignore it. "I was thinking… couldyouplease,please train me?"

"No."

"But-"

"Well then, I could make an exception. Three million ryo for three months worth of tutorship." It was obvious that the boy didn't have that type of cash just lying around, but it would be easier than to just reject him outright.

The blonde scratched his head in embarrassment "Well, I wasn't really thinking of paying..."

He barked a laugh. "I'm not a saintly-hearted philanthropist. Now get lost, before something bad happens to you." he lowered his head to glance at the blonde with cold, dead eyes.

"Look mister, I might not know what a filamfrepost is, but I do know that you're an asshole. If you didn't want to train me you just had to say so."

He watched the boy stomp out with a huff and smiled. Interesting kid.

 _A/N: I highly recommend_ **Naruto: Great Clan Days** _by_ **Kenchi618** _to the few of you who haven't read it yet. Set in a wonderfully thought out AU timeline where the existence of ninja villages is all but an idealistic dream and clan rivalries run high, it really is a superb showing from a superb writer who is starting to branch out into more comic-book based fanfiction._

 _Yeah, that is all for now. Hope you enjoyed._


End file.
